Chapter 23: Moving Out & In
The day I had to move out of the dorms was the same day I had to move into the apartment that Phil had so generously provided for us. Unfortunately, I realized too late, it was also the same day that Alexis, Chris, and Ty had to do the same thing. What that meant was that none of them could help me move and I couldn't help any of them move. To make matters worse, none of us owned a car to transport our stuff from the first location to the second. Alexis and I didn't realize this until we woke up the day after graduation. We had to be out by the next day and we didn't know how we were going to make that happen.
"What the hell are we going to do?" wondered Alexis aloud when our predicament finally dawned upon us.
"I don't have a clue, but we have to figure it out fast," I commiserated. "You would think that college graduates would have realized this sooner than we did. Oops."
"Can your family help?"
"No, they are leaving town this morning."
"Mine too."
"You search for U-hauls. I'll look up vans and trucks for rent." We were silent for a while until we clicked on our keyboards.
"Crap. It looks like everything is already rented out. I guess everyone else planned ahead of time." Just then, my phone pinged. I checked the text and sighed. "What? Who is it?"
"Camera Man," I answered.
"Show me. I want to see." It was a closeup of my breasts, with my fingers pinching my erect nipple. There were out-of-focus flowers and tall grass in the background. "That's really quite good. It's sexy, artsy, and cute all at the same time. You have to set up a shoot for me. I really like the pictures that you've shown me. Plus, I've always wanted to do a boudoir shoot so I can send sexy pics to Ty to get him all revved up with desire. Do you think your Camera Man could help me out?"
"Hey! That's it! Maybe Camera Man can help us out." I started texting him.
"Layla, I didn't mean now. We don't have time for a photo session today. We have to move out of here and then move into the apartment. That's going to take a lot of time."
"No, not that! I don't mean for you to set up a session today. I meant that perhaps he can solve our transportation problem. I remember him telling me that he had a pick-up to haul his camera equipment. Maybe he can help us move." I hit send and the text zipped off. Soon there was a response. "He says, 'What do I get in return for helping you?'" I looked up at Alexis. She shrugged and gave me a knowing look while she rubbed her fingers together to indicate paying cash. "No, we're broke. But I know what we
can
offer! Quick, strip off your shorts and blouse. You can leave your bra and panties on." I jumped up, holding my phone high in the air.
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"You and me! We can offer ourselves in exchange for him and his truck! I'll send him a sexy selfie and tell him that we can model for him if he helps us move."
"That just might work," she replied slowly with a sly smile spreading over her face. She hooked her thumbs in her shorts and slid them down. I did the same. We debated poses that would show our curves, and took several bad shots before we finally found one that we liked. It didn't have to be perfect; we weren't the photographers, after all. I quickly sent it back to him without any words.
"He replied: 'Are you proposing what I think you're proposing?'"
We smiled at each other. I texted back: "Picture this: you give us a ride; we give you a ride." We waited with bated breath.
Luckily, his answer came back quickly: "Be there in 30 min."
We squealed and clapped with excitement. "Oh my god! We have to get ready quickly." We put our clothes back on and started to pack in a frenzy. Luckily, there wasn't too much to pack. We weren't quite finished when there was a knock on the door. We looked at each other and froze. "Are you ready for this?" She nodded. "Okay, here we go." I opened the door and he was standing there with a big smile on his face. "Camera Man!" I gushed, and gave him a big hug. "Thank you so much for rescuing us. I promise we'll make it worth your while. This is my roommate, Alexis. Alexis, this is Camera Man." They waved shyly at each other, like they had been set up on a blind date, which was kind of the case. "She really likes your work."
"You showed her the pictures I took of you?"
"Of course. I share everything with her." Alexis and I giggled conspiratorially. He looked her up and down, sizing up his model before the photo session. She shifted her feet, as if she was oscillating between feeling self-conscious about being scrutinized and wanting to pose for him. I watched him watching her for a moment before interrupting. "We'll have time for that later, you two. First, you have to help us carry all this stuff down to your truck." They snapped out of their silent artist/muse dynamic and looked at me as they realized what had to be done. We spent the next hour or so packing, lifting, and filling his truck bed full of our belongings. We made him do all the heavy work. He didn't complain. We made sure of that by profusely praising his masculine strength in a very flirtatious manner.
The three of us squeezed into the cab of his truck and he started it up. I sat between Camera Man and Alexis. It was cramped quarters and our sides were touching. "Sorry," I said to Camera Man. "I'm all sweaty from all that carrying, and walking back and forth. I probably stink." I was feeling self-conscious and embarrassed.
"Don't worry. I think you smell good." We all smiled knowingly. "Besides, I probably stink worse than either of you. You guys made me carry all the heavy boxes!" We all laughed. He had noticed.
Alexis made an exaggerated sniff. "Well, I think you smell manly."
"I do too." I put my hand on his thigh.
"Yeah"—she sniffed—"in fact you smell Camera Manly!" We both groaned at her corny joke.
"You'll never make it as a stand-up comedian," said Camera Man.
"No, she's much better laying down on her back."
"Layla!" She slapped my thigh playfully. I gripped his thigh tighter.
